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Page Contents:
Or visit the Media Relations Page for our latest news and press releases... ParishWebmaster.com is a business and Web site founded by me -- Brandon Jubar. I am a cradle Catholic and life-long parishioner at Holy Redeemer Catholic Church in Burton, MI. Since April of 2001, I have worked with a handful of writers to produce content -- articles and reflections on a variety of topics -- for church Web sites. Every week we publish four (4) or five (5) articles and an eZine, which is distributed to the members of our subscribing Parishes and to individuals who have subscribed to our LifeTimes Catholic eZine. For a monthly fee, Parishes receive a license to publish all of the articles we produce, and can customize the eZine with their Parish name and links to the articles where they appear on the Parish Web site. The articles are updated automagically to a subscriber's Web site through the use of JavaScript, or the article can be published manually. In less than an hour a week, subscribing Parishes are able to reach out to there parishioners and minister to them through the Internet. The ParishWebmaster.com Mission is to help Parishes minister to people in their homes and on their jobs. Wherever people access the Internet, the Church can be there... ministering to them... spreading the Good News. But we have to actively seek people. And when we find them, we must have something interesting to share. The "message" can be consistent, but the "expression" of that message must be fresh and new. Thus, the main thrust of the ParishWebmaster.com Mission lies in generating content for Parish Web sites. Publishing a couple articles each week sounds easy, doesn't it? Especially in a larger Parish. You simply have each staff member write one or two articles a month. The problem, however, is that these staff members really don't have a vested interest in the success of the Web site. Their time is limited and their offline programs require their full attention. Having Parish Staff members write content for the Parish Web site usually lasts no more than a few weeks because our Parish staff members already have their hands full. ParishWebmaster.com is in the business of creating quality, Catholic content -- week after week -- so that Parishes don't have to. Knowing that new content will always be available takes a great deal of pressure off of the Parish and allows more systematic development of an overall eMinistry program. ParishWebmaster.com also continues to provide resources and consulting to help develop, implement and improve these Parish eMinistry efforts. For more information about the ParishWebmaster Content Subscription Service, visit our PW-CSS area. To read the latest articles from each topic feed, visit our Content area. If you have specific questions or simply prefer talking to a real person, Contact Me, or send an email to
<bjubar@parishwebmaster.com>
The ParishWebmaster.com Story... ParishWebmaster.com is a company I began in the Fall of 2000. The idea was to help Catholic Parishes get online. I started with my home Parish (Holy Redeemer, Burton, MI) and began talking with other Parishes in the Lansing Diocese. There was a great deal of interest -- everyone was trying to figure out what they needed to do in order to get online. I went "live" with the first version of the ParishWebmaster.com Web site in the Winter of 2000/2001. The site gave practical advice to Parishes on how to plan, design, build, promote and maintain a Web site. Shortly thereafter, the Diocese of Lansing rolled-out an agreement with CatholicWeb, which included a free Web site for every Parish in the Diocese. Practically overnight, the resources provided by ParishWebmaster.com were no longer needed by my first potential clients. This was actually great news! One of the first things I discovered was that creating a Parish Web site was not the difficult part. And there are many Web Designers more skilled than I who are focusing their efforts on helping churches get online (visit the Good News Web Designers Association for a complete listing). No... the difficult part was not getting a Web site up and running, the difficult part was actually ministering through it! By the time the CatholicWeb project had been completely rolled-out, I was already piloting a Content Subscription Service at Holy Redeemer. It Takes More Than Lip-Service Everywhere I surf, I see Catholics espousing the power of the internet. Everyone whole-heartedly agrees with the Pope when he says that we need to spread the Good News on the World Wide Web. Many Bishops go on at great length about it. And the priests and deacons I talk to are quick to say, "Oh, yes... we have a Parish Web site!" But it's not about having a Web site. It's not about having a "presence" on the internet. It's about ministering to people via electronic means. The overwhelming majority of Parish Web sites I visit do little or no ministry whatsoever. They are simply online brochures for the Parish. They do nothing but advertise offline programs. These Parish Web sites don't "minister" any more than a flier for a bible study ministers. Ministry doesn't occur until people actually show up at the function. It doesn't have to be like that. It shouldn't be like that. The internet gives us the power to reach out to people and minister to them where they are. We don't have to wait for them to physically come to us, and we don't have to physical go to them. We can "virtually" touch the hearts of people in the comfort of their homes -- from the comfort of our's. So, if you already understand the importance of fresh content for your Parish Web site... And you recognize the value and cost-effectiveness of the ParishWebmaster Content Subscription Service... Then what are you waiting for? Contact me today... ...then subscribe to my FREE weekly LifeTimes Catholic eZine. Experience the inspiration and insight for yourself -- then decide if you'd like to share the Good News with the members of your Parish family. As Pope John Paul II indicated in his Message on the 36th Annual World Communications Day, it is imperative that the Church become more effective at ministry and evangelization on the Internet. It can be a daunting task... but we're here to help. Peace in Christ, Brandon Jubar Writer ~ Editor ~ Publisher
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